The Demon Within
by FiveStarDisaster
Summary: Nekoni was a girl just reaching adulthood when she was thrust into the middle of the bedtime stories her mother told her growing up. She'd felt lost and alone her entire life, always feeling like she didn't belong, until she found a place that seemed made for her, sitting at the bottom of a well. There isn't a Kagome. She simply doesn't exist. Eventual InuYasha/Oc pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

"_A long, long time ago there was a young girl who lived in this very house. She used to play in the lake, and climb all the trees. One day she wondered over to the Dry Well. She knew she wasn't supposed to go there, but that made it all the more exciting. Well, she tumbled in, just like her mother warned her would happen. She sat the bottom staring up, convincing herself not to cry out for her mother to come save her. She stood up brushed the dirt off, and took a look around hoping to find a way out of the well. She realized she felt drawn to spot in the corner, and walked over there. She touched the stones looking for something special, something that brought her here. Finally she found it, a loose stone. She tugged at the stone until it came free. Excitement raced through her as she reached into the hole in the wall, hoping to find something amazing. Her finger brushed against a smooth wooden surface, she grasped it, and pulled out a tiny wooden box, covered in ancient Sutras. Curiosity got the best of her and she pealed them all off not thinking about what they might be locking inside the box. Her heart was racing and her fingers shook as she slowly opened the box. Inside was beautiful jewel, perfectly round, and glowing a beautiful pink color. She gently picked it up, and looked it over, 'This is it? That's what called me here. What a piece of junk. Some little kid probably buried their "treasure" down here a long time ago and forgot about it.' The girl was about to throw it back into the box when she felt the ground sink out from beneath her. She screamed aloud, now clutching the ancient jewel as she tumbles through empty space. She slammed her eyes shut waiting and praying for the world to still."_

"Why was the girl so silly mommy? That's the sacred Jewel she was holding!" The little girl giggled in her mother's arms, thinking that the girl in the story was stupid for not knowing what she held. Her mother adjusted herself on the bed to look at her daughter better. "She didn't know because she didn't get great bedtime stories like you do. Now do you want me to finish the story or not?"

"Oh no! Please finish it mommy! It's my favorite! I'll be quiet, I promise!"

"That's better, now:

_As the world stilled around her she slowly opened her eyes trying to figure out where she ended up. She saw that she was still sitting at the bottom of the well. _

"_Maybe I just got dizzy? And I thought I was falling…" She picked herself back up, putting the jewel in her pocket and starting looking up the walls for a way to climb out. Finally she saw some strong looking vines to hold onto, that would hopefully let her climb out. When she reached the top she looked around for some kind of marker to tell her which way would take her back home. She spotted the sacred tree that was near her house and started her walk back home, hoping her mother wouldn't catch her, and find out she had gone near the well. As she walked towards the tree she noticed how different things seemed. The woods seemed livelier, animals were running around and making more noise then they normally did in her small patch of woods. She looked around and saw that her "small patch" of woods seemed much larger then she remembered. Before she could think any more of it, she broke into a small clearing, her sacred tree right in the middle, but it wasn't _**her**_ tree. _**Her**_ tree didn't have a boy on it, and this one did. The young boy seemed to be sleeping, pinned to the tree by a single arrow. The roots of the tree had grown upwards toward him, almost like stairs to get level with him. _

"_Oh my god! He has ears! Animals ears!" The girl panicked and starting running away from tree scared of the strangeness of this new place. She started crying as she ran begging to just wake up at home safe in her bed. But that didn't happen or this story would be much shorter."_

The little girl giggled at her mom. "You can't stop keep going mommy!"

"_Instead she ran smack into a women who looked to be about her mother's age. The young girl fell flat on her butt, and stared up at the woman. She was dressed in strange old clothes. They reminded her of the painting in her home depicting ancient priestesses. Everything was so strange in this new place and she was scared, but this woman at least looked human so she threw herself forward, and clung to the women's legs. _

"_Please! Please take me home. I won't ever play in the well again, I promise! Just take me home."_

_The older woman, Priestess Kaede, took pity on the crying girl and brought her back to the village. The villagers were kind to her, and gave her food. No one knew how to get her home but thought the well was her best plan. The girl was given a bed, and told they would take her back in the morning, and ensure she made it home safely. Their plans however were thwarted when the village was attacked by a strange man. The village'sr kept screaming that it was demon, but the girl didn't think so, she thought he looked like a normal man. The manor demon continued to attack village, demanding to know where they were hiding the Sacred Jewel. It seemed he wasn't actually hurting anyone, just causing as much damage as possible. The girl panicked again thinking maybe the stone in her pocket was what the man was after."_

The mother paused her story as her young daughter yawned in her arms.

"Do you want me to finish the story tomorrow night sweetie? You seem tired."

"No! Finish it! Please? At least get to the gushy stuff." The girl snickered and her mom suppressed her own chuckle.

"Alright a little bit more, but it's getting late, and you have school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay mommy." The young girl snuggled deeper into her mom's arms as she began the story again.

"_The girl sat paralyzed with fear until the man turned his eyes on to her. She saw the evil glow coming from them, and was suddenly able to move. Her body's need to save her life had become greater than her fear. She stood and ran as fast as she could not even paying attention where she was going, or looking to see if the man was following her. She found herself at the edge of a deep and very wide river. She threw herself into it and swam as fast as she could to the other side. She took a moment to look back and saw the man standing there looking very angry, but he seemed unable to cross the river after her. 'Thank God I took swimming in school' the girl thought to herself she turned and continued to run. The girl was trapped in the other world for months, afraid to go back to the village where the man first appeared. She met many demons, some nice, and some very scary. It wasn't for another three months that she met the man again, this time in the mountains, far from any river she could hope to escape through. _

_The man stood tall on a cliff above her. This time his eyes were normal, and without the pulsing fear running through her she was able to see that he was a very attractive man."_

"Was he now?" said the man who had silently appeared in the doorway of the young girls room, a grin spread wide across his face.

"Daddy! Come sit with us! Mommy is telling the story!"

"Not tonight sweetie, maybe I'll tell you a story tomorrow night, okay?" The girl's father turned to look at his wife, "Honey it's getting late, and this is a long story, don't you think you should finish it another night?"

"I know. But it's her favorite. I'll tell her the short version, and meet you outside in a little bit," she said as she smiled up at her wonderful husband.

"I love you, try to hurry"

"I love you too, Okay, now where were we. Oh yes:

_She saw that man was attractive and didn't seem as scary as before. He held out his hand to her asking for the jewel, she was about to give it to him, unable to resist his hypnotic stare, when another demon burst through the mountain side. He quickly SNATCHED the girl up and took off, leaving the man-demon stunned momentarily, but only _just_ for a moment. Then he took off after them, and fought the enraged mountain demon, and rescued the girl. He noticed her terrible injuries and felt compelled to help her. So he picked up the injured girl, and he took her back to his castle, unable to leave the helpless girl alone to die._

_The man took care of the girl until she was well again, having forgotten all about the jewel he originally sought. The two stayed together for a long time living in his castle. The girl soon grew accustomed to demons coming in and out of the castle, not even batting an eyelash at them. The girl eventually learned that the man was king, a leader of the tribe of demons that lived in or around the castle. He had sought the Jewel so that he could vanquish their enemies that were planning to destroy their small village and castle. The girl seeing the sincerity and pain in his eyes eventually gave the man her jewel but it was no use. The enemy had been too strong and killed most of his people, the only survivors were those that had run away. The man however fought very hard, and was able to escape with the girl after the village had already been destroyed. The two fled together, and she offered him a safe haven, if he could get her back to her home. By now she'd been gone over a year, and wasn't sure if the door would even be open anymore. She approached the well, and jumped in, but simply landed at the bottom. The man jumped in after her to get her out, but once he landed the ground sank out from beneath them, and they were taken back to her time."_

"Mooommmmy! You skipped how it all happened! That's not fair! I wanted the whole story." The little girl had a very distraught look on her face as she crossed her arms and whined to her mother."

"I know sweetie, but it's past you bed time, and you've heard it all before. Now go to sleep, and I'll tell it better tomorrow."

The women stood up and tucked her daughter in, stopping to set something down on her nightstand, and turned to leave the room. She paused at the door to turn off the light, and looked back once more, "I love you Nekoni." She turned off the light and closed the door.

Nekoni never saw her parent's again.

The funeral had been small. Only a few people Nekoni's parents had worked with, and Nekoni's grandmother attended. The old woman wouldn't even let the young girl attend, saying it would be too much for her to handle in such a fragile state. Instead Nekoni sat outside by the lake where her parent had died, crying to herself all alone.

Nekoni spent the next 12 years avoiding her grandmother, wondering how her mother had ended up being as kind and sweet as she had been with such an evil and angry mother. Nekoni had strict rules, and wasn't even allowed to wonder the property she lived on. Her grandmother insisted that it was to make sure Nekoni didn't drown like her parents, but she knew it was out of fear the Nekoni would run away, or sit at the well her mother told her so much about; she wasn't sure which was worse offense to her grandmother. Her grandmother hated that well, and slapped Nekoni for even mentioning its existence. So instead Nekoni stayed quiet and did as many after school activities as she could. She took martial arts, and even learned how to throw knives. She tried archery for a while, but couldn't seem to get the hang of it. Her grandmother wanted her to take swimming lessons like her mother had, but even the _idea_ of swimming in a body of water larger than her bath tub sent Nekoni into a panic.

By the time Nekoni was graduating high school she hated her grandmother. She hated where her life was and couldn't wait until she was 18, and would inherited the house, and would be able to kick out her grandmother. She had no plans for college, and really had no idea what she would do with her life. The day after gradation was her birthday, her eighteenth birthday. She was actually happy for once knowing the next day she would sign the papers making the house and all of her parent's wealth hers. She took that day to just be happy and ignore everything her grandmother had ever told her. She went to her room, and lifted the lose floorboard in the corner to pull out her tiny jewelry box from her child hood. Inside was the last gift her mother had ever given her, a beautiful necklace with a large gemstone attached. It had always reminded her of the fairy stories her mother told her, and gave her comfort. Her grandmother however hated it, and forbid her from wearing it, saying if she wanted to keep it, to keep it hidden. This day though Nekoni put it on and strolled past her grandmother with her head held high. Nekoni snickered inside watching her grandmother's stunned expression, knowing that nothing her grandmother could do would bring her down.

"I'm going to go out to the lake, and take a walk. I'll be back in time for dinner." Nekoni was proud of herself standing up to her grandmother, and doing what she'd always wanted to do. She left the house and started walking around the grounds around her house. She realized she didn't do anything spectacular, but she still felt on top of the world. She approached the lake and stared out across the water. Her mother had always enjoyed swimming, even late at night. That night, the night her parents died had been different. Her mother had gone out to swim, and as always her father had gone out to watch over her. Her mother hadn't seen the large rock just below the surface. The paramedics said she'd snapped her neck, dying instantly, but her father couldn't have known. He dove in after her, trying to save her, despite not being able to swim. Nekoni had been sleeping soundly when it happened. When she awoke the next day, she knew something was wrong. No one had come to get her. She couldn't hear her parents making breakfast down stairs. She had bolted out of bed screaming for them both. When she made it to their bedroom she was able to see the lake from the window. She could see the two of them floating there in the water. She ran down stair and out to the lake. She sat at the end of the dock crying and reaching for them both until someone found her there, covered in dirt and tears.

Nekoni wiped away her fresh tears, and stood to walk back to her house. She hadn't really thought about that day in years. She wasn't allowed to talk about her parents, and certainly not about how they died. As she was walking she suddenly realized she wasn't walking toward the house, but toward the dry well; the well from the stories. She picked up her pace; wishing the stories were real, wishing she could travel back in time like the girl from the stories.

'_I don't have anything keeping me here. I don't have any plans for the future, no real friends. I'd be able to stay…. I suppose I'd miss some modern conveniences, but I'd make do. Or maybe I'd come back to shop_.' She chucked to herself at the thought, and was pulled back to the real world as she approached the well. She walked up to the edge and peered in.

'_There doesn't seem to be anything special about it, just an old useless well.'_

Suddenly Nekoni felt her mother's necklace pulse. She turned and sat on the edge of the well, and grasped at the stone.

"What was that?" Nekoni wondered aloud just as she was pulled backward into the well by unseen forces. She felt as though she was falling through space for a short while. She looked around and marveled at the beauty of this "in-between" place. Her time was cut short though as she felt herself land on the soft dirt at the bottom, and saw the well form around her.

"No way. It's not possible. The stories were real."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N

So I was really excited to see so many people read the prologue to my story! Anyway this will be Chapter one and I thought I'd explain a few things, and give you some info you might want. Unfortunately, this update is going to come much sooner than normal. I am a full time college student, and mother to a toddler, so I'm shooting for once a week updates, and more often whenever I can to make up for my slow updates. I will try to make my chapters on the longer side, but I'm going to end each one where it needs ending whether I've achieved my goal length or not. The ending place is always very important, but like I said I am aiming for longer. I do appreciate reviews, favorites, or follows, but I'm not going to beg at the end of every chapter or anything. I just appreciate them because it lets me know you read it and liked it (or hated it I guess). Right now the insecure writer in me is assuming the people who did read it just closed it, having no intention of reading further. If you have any questions or anything post them in a review and I'll either answer in the next chapter or send you message. Kygome is the only character I'm completely removing. Anyway, I think that's everything I had to say. So happy reading!

Chapter One – The Demons attack

"No way. It's not possible. The stories were real."

Nekoni pulled herself up and out of the well, sitting on the edge for a moment, taking in her surroundings.

'_I can't believe it. I'm actually here. I get to really see my fairy tales.'_

"YAY!" Nekoni started jumping up and down cheering, allowed to not care if anyone could hear her. Little did she know there _were_ people who could hear her, a whole village in fact. While she jumped around in the clearing celebrating, the people of the village nearby grew worried that a demon had stumbled upon their quaint home.

The men ran towards the old women's home shouting,

"Priestess Kaede!"

"What do we do?"

"Do we go after it?"

"Should we wait for it come here?"

"Maybe it'll go away."

"We should hunt it down and kill it, before it kills any of us!"

With that all of the men explained a unified "Yeah!" and raised their farming equipment above their heads.

Priestess Kaede stood in silence for a moment straining to hear the screaming demon in the woods.

"I am not certain this is a demon we hear. We will arm ourselves, and find it, but we will not kill it till we know for certain."

With Kaede's command the men ditched their blunt farming tools and gathered the spears and bows. Lead by Priestess Kaede they headed off for the InuYasha forest in search of the screaming demon.

Nekoni settled down and dropped to the grass, grinning from ear to ear.

"_This is amazing. OH! I should find the tree! And the village! Maybe someone there will remember the girl from my story, and I could see if the boy really does have dog ears."_

Nekoni picked herself up, brushing off the dirt and dust, and began walking toward the sacred tree, oblivious to the mob moving towards her silently through the forest. Nekoni was able to find the clearing around the tree very quickly, and sure enough there was a boy dressed all in red, pinned there by a single arrow, dog ears and all. Nekoni climbed up the roots, reaching up to him to get a better look.

"_How can this boy still be here? He looks like he's sleeping, but it must have been years since the story. Someone should have gotten him down by now."_

Nekoni looked at the arrow in his chest and felt some kind of power radiating off of it.

'_Maybe if I pull this out he'll wake up.'_

Nekoni reached for the arrow, stopping just before she gripped it.

"_What if he's trapped here for a reason? Maybe he's a bad person. Dog. Dog-person?'_

She stood there, hand perched above the arrow trying to decide what to do.

"STOP! Don't touch that!"

When she turned around she saw twenty men armed with spears and bows all pointed right at her. Nekoni slowly raised her hands above her head.

"I'm sorry! I'll come down. I won't touch the arrow, but please don't shoot me."

As she climbed down the crowd in front of her parted and a short, older woman came forward.

"We won't hurt you child, so long as you really are a child."

Priestess Kaede gasped a little at the sight of her, but Nekoni was too busy staring at the weapons aimed at her to notice the small reaction.

"Child, where are you from?"

"Would you mind asking these guys to lower their weapons first, I'm an unarmed teenager for christ's sake."

"Answer the question."

Nekoni watched the men inching closer to her, a couple looked like they were getting rope ready.

'_Okay, I'm not really in the position to make demands, answer the questions, hope for the best, and run when I get a chance.'_

"I'm from Tokyo, well near Tokyo. I live on some land close to Tokyo. This land, actually."

Kaede nodded her head at the girl.

"Why don't you come with me back to the village? I'll make supper and we can talk before you go back home to your parents."

"My parents are dead. I don't want to go back home."

Kaede had another look of shock on her face, this one Nekoni noticed.

"What? You don't see many orphans here? You'd think that you see them more often, " Nekoni snarled at the old woman.

"It's not that. Come child we'll have dinner, and talk."

Nekoni followed the old woman reluctantly, still not having many options since the men seemed to have created a new mob surrounding the two women.

"Look, I'm not here to bother your people or your village, just let me go okay? I'll head off some other direction, and never bother your people again."

Kaede didn't respond, but paid close attention to all that the girl said.

As the group entered the village Nekoni watched as all eyes turned to her. She strained to hear the whispering amongst the women and children.

"She doesn't look like a demon."

"Look at her clothes, so strange."

"Maybe she's a spy."

"Or a shape shifting demon."

"Enough! This girl isn't a demon; she's a guest here for a few days. I expect you to treat her as such."

"Guest?! Do you take all of your guests prisoner?! If I'm a guest let me leave!" Nekoni was screaming and snarling at the old woman, not caring if the entire village thought she was crazy.

"You can leave after we have supper."

This just infuriated Nekoni more, being ignored, and spoken to like a child and not the adult she was.

"Listen here you old hag, I haven't done anything wrong. You have no right to make demands of me."

By this time Kaede had entered her own home, and Nekoni was forced to follow her by the group of armed men behind her. One man poked his head in after her,

"Lady Kaede, should we leave a guard outside in case she runs?"

"That's not necessary, I can handle one little girl, and besides, she's free to go after we eat."

Nekoni helped Kaede prepare the meal in silence, taking every chance to peer out of the small hut and always meeting the eyes of the guards Kaede had told could leave.

'_Apparently they don't trust me much. Wonder why.'_

Nekoni shook her head and rolled her eyes at her own thoughts. Kaede peered over, curious at what the child was doing.

"Supper is done. We will talk now."

Kaede handed the girl a bowl, and began eating from her own.

"Well the food's not half bad. Start talking lady, or I'm leaving now. "

Kaede slurped up another spoonful and looked the girl over carefully, "I doubt that. The men I told to leave are still standing guard outside my hut, and you are but one unarmed and small girl. Even you wouldn't risk death just to avoid a conversation."

Nekoni glared at the old woman, annoyed that she knew so much. "Fine, what do you want to talk about? Dinner? The weather? How your men were going to kill me for trying to save a boy's life?"

"No, I wish to talk about where you are from. I want to know about your parents, and why you don't wish to return. "

"I told you already! I'm from here! Only in the future I think. I came in through the well. My parents are dead. I have nothing to go back to. I'd rather stay here." Nekoni got quiet as she finished speaking. She hated talking about her parents now. This woman didn't know them; didn't know her. Why should she have to talk at all?

"How did they die?"

Nekoni started to yell that it wasn't any of the old woman's business, but thought better of it. It was best to get this over with.

"When I was younger they both died in water accident behind our house. My mother liked to swim. She dove in, and hit her head on a rock. They said she died instantly. My father dove in after her, trying to save her. But he couldn't swim, and drowned trying to save her."

Nekoni's words were barely above a whisper as she finished talking. Kaede looked over at the girl, her eyes full of grief and pity, "I'm so sorry my child."

Nekoni raised her head to look at the old woman, her eyes blazing with fury.

"I don't need your pity. I told you everything you wanted to know; now I'm leaving! You can all go to hell!" Nekoni stormed out of the hut, getting angrier because she didn't have a door to slam in the woman's face. The men guarding the hut looked like they were going to try to stop her, but a glare and snarling "Back off" made them reconsider. The men turned to Kaede who had now left the hut watching Nekoni storm back to the forest.

"Let the child go. She means us no harm. She has seen far too much sorrow in her short lifetime." Kaede took one last look at the girl disappearing into the trees before turning and going back into her hut.

"Stupid old woman, doesn't know anything about me, or my family. I don't need her pity or sympathy. I don't need anyone."

Nekoni trampled through the forest in what she thought was the direction of the well, ranting and raving about nosy old women, and needing to mind their own business. It wasn't until she reached the Sacred Tree that she realized she was off course. She looked up at the boy stuck to the tree, her anger momentarily forgetting. She climbed the roots to get a closer look at his face.

"He looks kind of sad, and not at all evil. He looks innocent; just sleeping here, pinned to a tree."

She jumped down and looked around the clearing.

"_I think the well is that way… Or maybe that way."_

She couldn't go back to the village and ask for help, and she wasn't sure she'd even find it in the dark.

"You aren't lost are you?"

Nekoni jumped at the sound of a woman's voice floating through the clearing.

"_One of the damn villagers must have followed me out here to make sure I left the boy alone."_

"I'm just fine thank you very much." She searched the edge of the clearing with her eyes trying to find the owner of the voice.

"I'm over here."

She swept her head around, this time the voice was behind her.

"Too slow, I'm over here now. "

This time instead of turning toward the voice she jumped the way around and caught site of terrifying demon. She had the upper body of a woman, with six arms, but the rest of her was a giant centipede.

"AHH! What the hell are you!?"

"Tsk tsk. I could have kept playing that game for a while. Now I'm just going to eat you, and the Sacred Jewel you're carrying. I do hope you're delicious."

The demon woman ran its long tongue across its lips then lunged for Nekoni. She just barely dodged the attack and screamed again.

"_What do I do, what do I do… I don't have any weapons. I left my knife set at home, I didn't know I was coming here. Damnit! I should have taken something from the village to defend myself. I'm not even wearing good shoes for running!"_

Trying to think of a way out, Nekoni didn't move quickly enough and took a hard blow to her arm. She felt the burning pain and warm sticky blood start streaming down and through her fingers.

She cried out again, reaching for the open wound.

"_The village! They heard me yelling earlier, they have to be able to hear me here."_

Nekoni took a deep breath, gathering all her fear and anger and let out the loudest scream for help she could.

"HELP! HELP THERE'S A DEMON ATTACKING!"

She hoped someone had heard her and that they would send help. For now she had to focus on evading her attacker without hurting her arm any further.


End file.
